What Is Self-Deliverance? A helpful guide to freedom

You feel like a demonic spirit is at work in your life, and there is no one around to pray a deliverance prayer for you, but you have heard of “self-deliverance”.

This article will help you find out what self-deliverance is if it is even possible to do it yourself, and how you would pray for self-deliverance.

Self-deliverance is casting demons out of oneself through healing and deliverance prayer. After repentance, forgiving others and renouncing the respective demon, its sin, and its curse, the demon is commanded to leave in Jesus’ name. Hereby hands can be but don’t have to be laid on yourself.

Because this short statement is loaded, let’s unpack this and back it up with the Bible.

What is self-deliverance?

Self-deliverance is a deliverance prayer that one prays for oneself by commanding the demonic spirit to leave in Jesus’ name.

Jesus taught us in Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-20, and John 20:21 to do the work that He did: preaching the full gospel to the poor, preaching about deliverance, setting people free, and healing them physically and emotionally (Luke 4:18).

When we look at Mark 16:15-20 in particular we can see that Christians are instructed to cast out demons as a natural act following their faith in Christ’s redemptive work at the cross.

That does not just mean casting demons out of others but also includes casting them out of yourself.

When doing so, it is helpful but not required to “lay hands” on yourself. Depending on what you pray for, it does come in handy (pun intended).

When praying for yourself, you need to know that this is spiritual warfare. That means, when you address the demonic spirit inside of you to cast it out, you are not talking “to yourself”, you are, in fact, talking to a spiritual being that is inside of you to kill, steal, and destroy you (John 10:10).

That might sound scary, but sadly is the reality we live in. Don’t be afraid but confront it. Pray for yourself just as you would pray for someone else. I am giving you a step-by-step guide and some prayer points further down below.

You should check out this post to learn about 7 signs that alert you about spiritual warfare and 7 spiritual weapons you can use to stand strong in the fight.

Is self-deliverance possible?

As a general rule, self-deliverance is possible, however, a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and friend is required for best results, as is repentance, forgiving others, renouncing the respective sin, curse, and demon. The demon needs to be commanded to leave in Jesus’ name.

Self-deliverance or deliverance prayer, in general, is not possible if there is no personal covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. You can see that in Acts 19:13-17, where the Jewish exorcists tried to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus whom Paul was preaching.

Well, because they didn’t have a personal relationship with Christ, they were also not able to cast it out. As a result, they were beaten up by the demon.

You need to make sure that you have Jesus as your Lord, Savior, and friend.

Also, a demon won’t leave you as long as he has a legal right to stay and you have to cast him out. To break this right, you need to repent, renounce it, and break it. The Bible calls this legal right a curse or generational curse.

When casting out demons, make sure you do it in the name of Jesus. There is no other name higher than His (Philippians 2:9), and the demons will have to obey in His name (Romans 14:11).

Another major element that can block or accelerate your self-deliverance is forgiving others for their wrongdoings. Sometimes it is not what they said or did that hurt us. It might be what they didn’t do or didn’t say that hurt you.

In any case, make sure to completely release every one of everything, just like Jesus released you.

How to do self-deliverance

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to actually cast a demon out of yourself and apply what we just learned.

With these steps know that deliverance is a process. In some cases, you might have to attack the same area several times. Some things need a little longer to pray through and work out. You might have to learn new habits and behavior patterns to cultivate end enjoy your newly won freedom. Don’t get dismayed. As long as you stay consistent, God will help you overcome.

Know that what you are doing is spiritual warfare and not just a “thank-you-Jesus-amen-prayer”. You are engaging the enemy. So, treat him as such. There is only grace for you. not for demons. Be encouraged to take authority in Jesus Christ and cast these evil spirits out by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus (Matthew 12:28, Luke 11:20).

If you’re not sure how some of the parts are applied, don’t worry I have a complete prayer guide on how to pray for self-deliverance at the bottom of this article.

If you are struggling at your workplace, I got you! I wrote a separate helpful guide about spiritual warfare in the workplace just for you to help you stay strong and overcome.

1. Accept Jesus as your Lord, Savior, and friend.

Should you have done this step in the past and are steady in your commitment to Christ, you can skip this step.

But if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord, Savior, and friend, you won’t be able to cast anything out. You need to first surrender your whole life to Christ to be able to walk in forgiveness, the newness of life, and the power of God as a son or daughter of your heavenly Father.

2. Repent of all your sin.

Before entering into spiritual warfare make sure there is nothing between you and God.

The demon(s) that is/are plaguing you came in through sin. Either your own sin or the sin of your ancestors. So, make sure this sin is covered, under the blood of Jesus, and forgiven.

If you repent from your heart, there is then no condemnation anymore. Jesus is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (Romans 8:1,1 John 1:9).

Also, stand in the gap for your family’s sins, all the way back to Adam and Eve to bring all family sins under the blood too. If you don’t know what “standing in the gap” means you can find out in this article I wrote.

3. Forgive everyone who wronged you.

Jesus instructs us in Matthew 6:13-14 that our heavenly Father will only forgive us if we also forgive everyone else that wronged us. This can be a major blockage in people’s lives, it certainly was for me. But it was so freeing to forgive and then be set free by all these unforgiveness and bitterness spirits.

If this is a major topic for you, this article might help you heal your broken heart.

Here are some YouTube videos that can help you with forgiving others too.

4. Put on the full armor of God.

Again remember, you are entering spiritual warfare. So, let’s put on the full armor of God as revealed in Ephesians 6:10-20. This is a real offensive armor, not a defensive one. There is no protection on the back. You are moving forward to gain ground back for God.

Pray it on in the name of Jesus and get yourself ready for spiritual battle.

Speaking of spiritual battle: You might want to learn more about spiritual weapons you can apply in spiritual warfare in this article.

5. Renounce the respective sin, curse, and demon.

Sin opens the door for demonic spirits and gives them legal rights. These rights are called curses and can develop into generational curses if they are not broken (Exodus 20:5, Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28). So, you need to break with these things. This “breaking” is also called renouncing. Renounce that particular sin/curse/demon and cast it out in the name of Jesus.

If there is anger, then guess what you need to renounce: the curse and the spirit of anger.

Here again, stand in the gap to break any respective generational curses of your family all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Also: God is not delivering you from your friend. So make these spirits your enemy. You want to get rid of them. There is no mercy for them. We are fighting them until they are out.

6. Command the demon to leave you in Jesus’ name.

After you repented and renounced and got yourself ready, tell this illegal squatter to leave the temple of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Make sure you don’t do it in your own name. Only by the name of Jesus can we cast out demons or ask the Father to move for us (John 15:16).

I learned from a long-time Healing & Deliverance minister that it can help to put your hand on your forehead, neck, or solar plexus. Those are areas like trigger points that put pressure on these demons.

Also, use the finger of God (point your index finger), because if we cast out demons by the finger of God we know that the kingdom of God has come to us (Luke 11:20).

Disclaimer: all these “methods” are no magic techniques to manipulate God to move. They are mere methods that help in the deliverance process. All we need is Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit. But try them out and see what happens.

7. Release any demonic spirit through your breath.

This might sound new age-like but is indeed biblical. Both the Hebrew word “ruach” as the Greek word “pneuma” used for spirit also means breath. So, after telling the demonic spirit to leave, take a deep breath and breath out deeply.

Sometimes coughing or deep yawning occurs, which is not uncommon in deliverance. It is a physical manifestation of demonic spirits leaving the body.

Even Jesus will one day get delivered in that way (Revelations 3:16).

And even Satan, the Antichrist, and his false prophet will one day release demonic spirits that way (Revelation 16:13).

So don’t be alarmed. Take a deep breath and let it go!

8. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill the delivered area.

After you received deliverance and you feel like something really left you, invite the Holy Spirit to fill every area that is now free. We can read in Matthew 12:43-45 that the demonic spirit after being cast out, came back and found his former home empty.

So after being delivered, let’s just fill it up with the Holy Spirit by inviting Him to fill every delivered area.

9. Dedicate every newly freed area back to Jesus.

Next to filling this now delivered area, let’s rededicate it back to Jesus. It was dedicated to a demon in the past. Now we want to dedicate it back to Jesus. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit after all (1 Corinthians 6:19).

It also kind of seals the deal.

10. Release the opposite blessing of the curse.

Something I learned and like to do is releasing the blessing of the opposite of what you cast out. If you cast out the spirit of anger you can release the blessing of joy, or peace, or of love and patience.

You can also ask God to stir up new gifts in the Holy Spirit to be a better useful vessel in His kingdom.

There are some general things I usually release (mentioned below in the prayer guide) but you can add some of the things you’d like to have back too!

11. Learn to live out your new freedom.

Well, you got delivered, filled, and restored. What now? How do you live out your freedom?

Obviously, be lead by the Holy Spirit. Let Him give you a unique strategy for your situation.

You might need to change some of your habits and behavior patterns to keep and protect your newly conquered freedom.

Here you will notice if you are really set free or if you still need to come back and dig a little deeper in prayer and spiritual warfare.

You will also notice, in some things you will literally feel a certain sense of freedom. Some thought, or behavior patterns, won’t be there or natural anymore.

In other areas, you might have to relearn your routines. Whatever it was you got set free of, pray and think about how you now walk in holiness in that particular area.

Self-Deliverance Prayer Points

Dear Jesus,

I ask you for forgiveness for all of my sins. (You may want to repent of specific sins as well.)

I receive you as my Lord and Savior over my life. I surrender everything I am and have to you. Please be my helper and friend.

I cover myself and my family with your blood right now. I stand in the gap for my father’s and mother’s family line (and for my spouse and child(ren).) I ask you for forgiveness for all of our sins, especially for (fill in the blank). (1 John 1:9)

In Jesus’ name, I forgive and release every person that wronged or hurt me. I forgive them for making me feel (fill in the blank) by doing (fill in the blank), or not doing (fill in the blank), or saying (fill in the blank). In the name of Jesus, I completely forgive them. (Matthew 6:14-15)

In Jesus’ name, I put on the belt of truth, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of the gospel. I take up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:10-20).

(If you have children, they should also pray the following, if possible. If not, renounce the same thing your child needs deliverance from. Sometimes these things run in the family. These are generational curses.)

In the name of Jesus, I renounce (fill in the blank for any sickness, disease, curse, or sin you want to renounce now. Be specific.) in my life and also in my bloodline, both ways all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Holy Father, in the name of Jesus, I invite your precious Holy Spirit into this place right now. In the name of Jesus, I ask you, Father, to send sufficient angels that would assist in this spiritual warfare with healing, deliverance, protection, and praise. Please glorify your name here right now. Thank you for being so faithful to me and my family.

In the name of Jesus, I declare that everything that leaves me and/or my child here today has to go right back into the pit of hell and will never come back. I bind all the demons I renounced as one and they have to leave me and my family as one.

In Jesus’ name, I also bind and break any plan of the enemy for revenge. In Jesus’ name, I bind the strong man right now. I take away all weapons, armor, devices, and crowns of all demons I renounced in my life. I reverse their curse (X amount, like 10 times, 50 times, etc.) of times back on their own head. May they receive back what they came out to do to me. (Psalm 149:5-9, Matthew 16:19, Mark 3:27)

I declare in Jesus’ name that no weapon formed against me shall prosper but be turned back to its sender right now (Isaiah 54:17). They shall receive their own fear, their own suffering, their own torment, their own (fill in the blank with what you renounced). In the name of Jesus, I release God’s written and appointed judgment for every single one of these demons right now (Psalm 149:5-9, Revelation 15).

In the name of Jesus, I release a holy confusion into the enemy’s camp, so they would point their own weapons against each other or themselves (Exodus 23:27, 1 Samuel 14:19-20). In the name of Jesus, I command that they have to hear their own lies like a broken record over and over again, like the torment they tried to bring on me and my child until they leave us.

In the name of Jesus, I curse (fill in the blank with what you renounced) at the root like Jesus cursed the tree (Matthew 21:19). It shall die, dry up, and never bring bad fruit in our lives again.

In the name of Jesus, I come against (fill in the blank with what you renounced) with the blood of Christ and command them to leave me here and my family altogether, right now!

will have to leave through breath/spirit. Trust me, it works. That’s how God healed me from cancer and so many other things too. Let God move on you now. Let the Holy Spirit touch you and set you free. Should a demon manifest, don’t be intimidated. Just tell it to go in the name of Jesus until it leaves. Once you think God’s healing and deliverance is completed for the moment, you might want to release the blessing.)

In the name of Jesus, I release God’s blessing (opposite of what you renounced). I release healing, freedom, deliverance, the power of God, joy, and God’s anointing, (or anything else you want to release). Holy Spirit please fill every empty space in me now. Fill me with your light and your love. I dedicate every now delivered space in my life back to Jesus. Jesus, I put you first in every area of my life.

Heavenly Father, I ask you in Jesus’ name to stir up new gifts in our lives through your Holy Spirit to bring good fruits and build your kingdom (1 Corinthians 12,14).

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask you for the Spirit of strength and the power of your might to come into my life and the life of my family. (Ephesians 6:10) I also ask you, in the name of Jesus, to release the authority over all the power of the enemy, to trample on spiritual serpents and scorpions, and that nothing would harm us. (Luke 10:19)

I thank you and praise you for what you are doing in our lives.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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